Railway joint chair



June 30, 1931. D. HERL RAILWAY JOINT CHAIR Filed Feb. 19, 1931glwuentor, jgzm yuiz'n H erZ A W k Patented June 30, 1931 {UNITED STAres PATENT oFFrcE -DRAGU'JII=1\TEI-IERL,w F NIAGARAI'FLALLS, NEW YORKRAILWAY JOINT CHAIR Application.filedr'Februaryilt),1931. Serial No.517,034.

Bjing rail ends are retaii'ied inajoint chair in 'theabsenceof the usualbolt and,nut lock devices, the constructionv being such' that the railsare permitted limitedmovement in ex- .-pansion and contractionwhilefdevices are lfliembo'die'd inthe joint chair to reduce vib-ra-"tion' of the rail ends therein.

Afurther object ofthe invention is to provide agjoint chairof, the,foregoing character wherein tensionedpins associated with the "'sidewalls of the joint chair'and normally cxtendsdnto the chairtareautomatically.reatraotediupon theplacing of a rail end in thechair andlater re'ceivedin openings pro- -vide'd therefor in'the rail websftoefleet re- "2 tentionr of. therail end in the chair.

With the, above. and other objects in view that willlbe'comeapparent asthe nature of the invention is better understood, thesame consists inthe novel form, combination and arrangement of partshereinafterlmoretully described,v shown, in the. aceo-mpanying draw-'ingsvandclaimed. 1 r 2 'In the drawings Figure 1 is a top plan view ofa joint chair constructed in accordance with the present invention withthe meeting rail ends seated therein;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view; Figure 3 is a horizontallongitudinal sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Figure 2 showing therail end retention pins carried by spring arms on the joint chair andthe spring devices for holding the rail ends against vibratory movementFigure 4 is a detail sectional view showing one of the spring devicesand the railretaining pins set into a side wall of the joint chair;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary side elevational View of one rail end showingthe openings therein to receive the retention pins and the bevellednotch in the web thereof to move the pins outwardly of the inner face ofthe chair wall during assembly of the rail end in the chair;

Figure 6 is a eross-sectionalview taken on line 66 ofFigure 2; and

Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view taken on "line 7 7 ofFigure 2,

Referring more in detail to the accompany ing drawings, there isillustrated a railway joint chair having meeting rail ends seatedtherein and so retained in the absence of the usual bolt and lock nutdevices, the retaining meansfor the rail ends being automaticallyengaged therewith and adapted to be manually operated to effect releaseof the rail from 'the joint chair for purposes of repair or other wise.The meeting rail ends are of similar construction and comprise a baseflange '10, a

web-'11 and a tread 12. One side of the web 11 is provided with aninclined depression 13 extending to the end of the web as shown inFigures '3 and 5, while said web inwardly of the depression 13 isprovided with a pair of spaced parallel openings 14, all for purposespresently to appear. As shown inFigures 2 'and'5, corresponding sides ofthe treads 12 of 1 the meetingrail ends are provided with socket members15 to receive an electrical conductor 1601: the like.

The joint chair comprises a bottom wall 17 having upstanding inwardlydirected side walls 18 designed for intimatecontact-with radjacentport-ions of the meeting rail ends as shown in-Figures 6 and'7, thedevices for retaining the meeting rail ends in the joint --ehair beingcarried by the latter. 'Upstandingreinforcing ribs 19 are'carried by theside walls 18 of the-joint chair and a pair of said ribs at each side ofthe chair have cut away portions to receive a tensioned arm 20 as illus-=trated,1one end'of the arm carrying a finger 1115160321 with thecorresponding end of the arm spaced from a rib whereby said end may'bemoved outwardly of the adjacent side wall oi the chair said fingerpiece 21. A pair of Zlaterally directed pins 22 is carried by the{inner-"side of the'free swinging end of the spring arm 20 and projectsthrough openings 23 provided in the adjacent sidewall 18 of the jointchair to enter the openings 14 in the rail ""web asshown inFigures 3 and6 for retaining Fee with the inclined depression 13 of the rail web.

In assembling the rail ends in the joint chair, it being understood thatthe pins 22 normally project into the interior of the joint chair, therail ends are moved into the opposite open ends of the chair, theinclined depression 13 riding over the tapered end 22a of the outer pinfor moving both of said pins out of the path of movement of the railends and when said rail end has been moved a sufficient or properdistance into the joint chair, the pins 22 under influence of the springarm automatically move into the openings 14,- of the rail webs foranchoring the rail end in the chair. When it is desired to remove therail end, the finger piece 21 of each spring arm 20 is grasped by asuitable implement and moved outwardly of the adjacent side wall of thechair which removes the pins 22 from the rail openings 14 so that thelatter may he slid outwardly of the chair.

To prevent vibration of the rail ends in the joint chair and to prolongthe life of the construction, spring devices are carried by the sidewalls of the joint chair and engage the rail webs 11. As shown moreclearly in Figures 3, i and 7, the inner face of a side wall of thejoint chair is provided with longitudinal depression or groove 24undercut at its ends to receive the ends of spring strips 25, theintermediate portions of which normally project into the interior of thejoint chair and when said rail ends are positioned in the chair, thesprings 25 engage the same and operate to reduce vibratory movement ofthe rails in the chair.

TVhile there is herein shown and described the preferred embodiment ofthe invention, it is nevertheless to be understood that minor changesmay be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention as claimed.

I claim 1. In a device of the character described, a railway chair,meeting rail ends seated therein and having openings in the websthereof, spring arms carried by the sides of the chair, and pins carriedby the arms adapted to be received in the rail web openings for theretention of the rail.

2. In a device of the character described, a railway chair, meeting railends seated therein and having openings in the webs thereof, spring armscarried by the sides of the chair, pins carried by the arms adapted tobe received in the rail web openings for the retention of the rail, andcooperating bevelled faces on the inner end of one pin and adjacentrail.

3. In a device of the character described, a railway chair, meeting railends seated therein and having openings in the webs thereof, spring armscarried by the sides of the chair, pins carried by the arms adapted tobe received in the rail web openings for the retention of the rail, andspring devices on the inner face of the chair to be engaged by the railends to reduce vibration of the rails in the chair.

4. In a device of the character described, a. railway chair, meetingrail ends seated therein. and having openings in the webs thereof,spring arms carried by the sides of the chair, pins carried by the armsadapted to be received in the rail Web openings for the retention of therail, cooperating bevelled faces on the inner end of one pin andadjacent rail, and spring devices on the inner face of the chair to beengaged by the rail ends to reduce vibration of the rails in the chair.

5. In a device of the character described, a railway chair, meeting railends seated therein and automatically operating interlocking devicescarried by the chair and rail ends for retaining the latter in thechair, and spring devices carried by the chair adapted to be engaged bythe rails to hold the latter against vibratory movements.

6. In a device of the character described, a railway chair, meeting railends seated therein and automatically operating interlocking devicescarried by the chair and rail ends for retaining the latter in the chairincluding pins on one member to be received in openings in anothermember.

7. In a device of the character described, a railway chair, meeting railends seated therein and automatically operating interlocking devicescarried by the chair and rail ends for retaining the latter in the chairincluding pins on one member to be received in openings in anothermember, and manually operable means for removing the pins from theopenings to permit removal of the rail ends from the chair.

In testimony whereof I alfiX my signature.

DRAGUTIN HERL.

